Something is standing up because of what is underneath it. Instead of pushing at the front, you go below and turn that ground over, and the thing comes down on its own. The word keeps that direction in every use: the work is done from beneath, usually slowly, usually out of sight. What changes from sense to sense is only what is standing there — a government, a person's belief, or a pattern an audience is leaning on.
From the word’s history
The source gives the Latin original subvertō, glossed 'to overthrow', literally 'to underturn, turn from beneath'. The modern verb still moves in that direction, which is why undermining, not confronting, is the feel of every sense on this page.
資料給的拉丁文是 subvertō，意思是「推翻」，字面是「從底下翻過來」。今天的用法還走同一個方向，所以這一頁每個意思給人的感覺都是「從底下掏」，不是「正面對撞」。
Wiktionary, "subvert" (etymology 1)
登入就可以看每一支怎麼連回核心畫面。